"If you need money, why don't you earn it yourself?" Chen Xingyan questioned.
"Don't talk to your father like that," An Zihao nudged Chen Xingyan's elbow reminding her not to say something wrong and hurt herself in the process.
"Am I not right? My father went missing when I was 6-years-old. He got into an accident and couldn't find his way home. Can't you just let me continue believing that?" Chen Xingyan asked the man in front of her with teary eyes.
In reality, it was obviously not an accident for a person to go missing without a single clue. Chen Xingyan had understood this long ago.
"Xingyan, I understand that you are a big star now and you have money. So, please save your brother. If it wasn't because I had no choice, I would not be showing myself in front of you." The man looked old with a pair of reading glasses. His hand clasped tightly to the the quiet little boy beside him, with no intention of letting go for even a second.
Chen Xingyan did not reply. After a short moment, An Zihao said to Father Chen, "I think you should go home for now."
Father Chen understood that it was hard for Chen Xingyan to comprehend everything that was happening in front of her, so he sighed before leaving with the little boy.
"What right does he have...?"
"If you didn't have hope in your father, you wouldn't be so upset. Stay here, I'll go check if he has a place to stay."
Chen Xingyan opened her mouth to tell An Zihao not to bother, but the words would not leave her lips. In the end, she simply said, "I am going to go to work."
...
After escorting the father and son to a hotel, An Zihao helped them pay for a room. Father Chen looked at An Zihao and almost dropped down on his knees after entering the room, "Please convince Chen Xingyan to help me."
"To be honest, you have not upheld your responsibilty as a father, so you can't turn the situation around and expect Chen Xingyan to do anything for you."
Father Chen understood this well, so he stood up and sighed, "Isn't she pushing us to our death then?"
"How much do you need?"
Father Chen was stunned for a moment before he finally replied, "$1 million. This is my son's medical records."
"I can give you the money under one condition: never appear in front of Xingyan and her mother again."
"As long as I can save my son, I will definitely keep my distance from them," Father Chen agreed.
After confirming the medical records, An Zihao threw the documents aside. He really wanted to tell the man that if he could resolve the matter with money, he preferred not to open his heart to him. For a man that was willing to abandon his wife and daughter, he had no heart to begin with.
However, he had no idea that his generous gesture this time would lead to a huge crisis.
...
The next afternoon, Tangning and Mo Ting boarded a flight to the Maldives, while the two babies were left temporarily in Xia Yuling and Bai Lihua's care.
The two mother's had a great relationship with each other and were almost like sisters. Bai Lihua even slept over at the Tang Family Home every now and then. As a result, the two families were like one big family.
This time, Chen Xingyan decided not to tell Bai Lihua know about Father Chen because she didn't know how to bring it up. At the same time, she was afraid that her mother would be hurt a second time, so she simply mentioned it briefly to Tangning.
Tangning did not take it to heart, so she had no idea that Chen Xingyan was about to go through an extremely painful experience.
Two afternoons later, Chen Xingyan was in the middle of filming a programme when a huge car accident occurred in Beijing. A middle-aged man had been driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, resulting in a 7-car pile up. Two people died on the scene, three were seriously injured and four suffered light injuries.
The news sources quickly investigated the background of the perpetrator and discovered that his name was Chen Tianhao. According to the police, this man was the father of the popular artist, Chen Xingyan.
On that day, An Zihao was discussing an endorsement contract for Chen Xingyan, so Little Seven accompanied her instead. The police contacted Little Seven and Little Seven waited until Chen Xingyan finished her programme before she rushed over to tell her, "Something happened. We need to visit the police station."
"What happened?" Chen Xingyan was afraid that something had happened to An Zihao.
But, when Little Seven showed her the news, she was a little shocked but pretended not to care, "He hit someone. What does that have to do with me?"
"The police have requested for you to visit the police station because Uncle Chen recently received a sum of money from an anonymous bank account. The police want to confirm it."
"What money?" Chen Xingyan was confused because she had no idea that An Zihao had given Father Chen money.
After arriving at the police station, Chen Xingyan was immediately stopped in her track by the family members of the car accident victims, "Give my parents back their lives..."
"Give my brother back his life..."
Although Chen Xingyan understood how they were feeling, what did this matter have to do with her?
"I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with me."
"How does it have nothing to do with you? You are the murderer's daughter!"
"I haven't had a father since I was 6-years-old. Over the years, I have been a fatherless child. How do you expect me to take responsibility?" Chen Xingyan asked.
"No yelling in the police station! Chen Xingyan come in for your interrogation!" A police officer noticed the commotion outside and immediately stepped out to scold them before taking Chen Xingyan into the interrogation room.
"I'm sure you've heard about what happened to your father, right?" the officer asked. "I've looked into the matter and am aware that your father contacted you a few days ago."
"I do not have a father," Chen Xingyan replied straightforwardly. After a short pause, she began to explain, "He suddenly appeared the other day asking for money to save his son. But, I ignored him."
"In that case, how do you explain this sum of money that he received from Mr. An Zihao's account?" the officer asked.
Chen Xingyan received the transaction record from the officer's hand and confirmed that the money was indeed from An Zihao.
This idiot, why did he try to clean up after her without her knowing?
"Did you know? Because of this sum of money, Chen Tianhao went to buy a sports car. He then indulged in alcohol, gambling and drugs and got into fights; there was nothing he wouldn't do. Because of this sum of money, he had the finances to commit a crime. He bought drugs and drove under the influence of alcohol, ruining the lives of 6 families."
After hearing this, Chen Xingyan's eyes grew wide in shock as she immediately explained, "That's right, I asked my manager to transfer this money to him because I didn't want him to hassle me anymore. But, I simply transferred him money, did I commit a crime? In the end, I transferred him money because I thought he was using it to save someone, I had no idea that he had another purpose for it."
The officer glanced at Chen Xingyan and shook his head, "I'm afraid your conscience won't be at peace for the rest of your life."
At that moment, tears began rolling out of Chen Xingyan's eyes. However, she quickly wiped them away and gave Bai Lihua a phone call.
In the end, she simply said to the officer, "I'll leave everything in the hands of the authorities."